Monday, August 13, 2007

An essay for IELTS: Animal testing - there is no alternative

Medicines, drugs are a boon to mankind. Many a drugs are released after carefully testing on animals. Some are of the opinion that animal testing of drugs is mandatory, while others are of the opinion that animal testing is cruelty on animals and so should be banned. Unless there is a better approach, it is not practically possible to release drugs prior doing animal testing.

Drugs released needs to be tested. Testing drugs on animals ensures that harmful drugs are not released before trying them on humans. Testing drugs directly on patients can put them at risk and can endanger a person’s life. Moreover, it is difficult to get people who are willing to undergo such tests. Also, it is more cost effective and it serves as a consolation that the drugs have been tested giving a psychological benefit to the doctors and the end users.

It is true that many animals become victims of these tests. At times it is not required to test the drugs on animals. Many drugs released after careful testing are withdrawn from the market. This implies that the tests done were futile and the animals had to pay the price. Hence many are of the opinion that animal testing needs to be banned.

Computer testing is a good option. But technology has not so advanced that drug testing can be done using computers. Computers can generally be used to gather, and analyze the observations and results of the tests; they cannot be substitute to animal testing.

At present apart from animal testing, there is no better and safe method of testing. Though animal become victims of these test, it is not advisable to ban animal testing. Someone has to pay the price of the testing and it is safer to test them on animals than on humans.

Disclaimer: This is just a sample essay written while preparing for IELTS and is not my opinion.